Football: Academic All-Shore Players Honored
TINTON FALLS - A group of Shore Conference standouts were honored on Sunday for their performances on the field and in the classroom at the annual Shore Football Coaches Foundation banquet.
The recipients of this year's Academic All-Shore awards were honored and the rosters and coaching staffs for this summer's U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic were also announced at the banquet at Gibbs Hall. Kean University head coach Dan Garrett, an Ocean Township resident, gave the keynote speech. Lacey assistant Watson Heilala, a U.S. Army Reserve specialist, spoke on behalf of the U.S. Army, which has continued its generous sponsorship of the state's oldest all-star football game, which began in 1978. The event was emceed by the Shore Sports Network's own Kevin Williams.
This year's game pitting the top seniors from Monmouth County against their counterparts from Ocean County will be at 7 p.m. on July 17 at Brick Township High School. Ocean Township's Don Klein will coach the Monmouth squad, while Brick coach Rob Dahl, who led the Green Dragons to their first state sectional title since 1994 this past fall, will lead the Ocean team.
At halftime, the SFCF will make its latest inductions into the Hall of Fame. The coaching inductees will be former Toms River North head coach Bob Nani and former Middletown South and Raritan head coach Bob Generelli. Nani led the Mariners to South Jersey Group IV titles in 1994 and 1997 as well as a pair of division titles. Generelli won three state sectional titles between his two coaching stints, including leading Raritan to its only state title in program history during an undefeated 2004 season.
Two members of the media will also be inducted. The Shore Sports Network's own Ed Sarluca, a long-time sideline reporter on the radio broadcasts and a fixture of Shore Conference football, will be inducted along with former Asbury Park Press columnist and sports editor Joe Adelizzi, another longtime supporter and chronicler of Shore football.
The recipients of the Coach of the Year awards for each of the Shore Conference's six divisions were also honored. The honorees were Manalapan's Ed Gurrieri (Class A North); Monmouth Regional's Rich Mosca (Class A Central); Brick's Rob Dahl, Toms River South's Ron Signorino Jr., Jackson Memorial's Walt Krystopik (Class A South); Ocean's Don Klein (Class B North); Shore's Mark Costantino (Class B Central); and Barnegat's Rob Davis (Class B South).
Two players from each program were selected as Academic All-Shore recipients. They had to maintain a 3.0 grade-point average or higher and also display character and integrity off the field as well as being a contributor on it. They were selected by their respective coaches. Six players who were Shore Sports Network first-team All-Shore selections in the fall also earned academic honors: Manalapan linebacker Chris Noesges, Ocean linebacker Dan Loizos, Jackson Memorial linebacker Ken Bradley and running back Khani Glover, Matawan kicker/punter Mike Creamer and Point Beach defensive back Noah Yates.
Academic All-Shore Team
Asbury Park - Daquane Bland-Bennett, Ricky Cortez
Barnegat - Mark Magoon, Tom Kampo
Brick - Drew Scott, Logan Schmitz
Brick Memorial - Lance Hansen, Jake Lombardo
Central - Tom Koenig, Paulius Kudarauskas
Colts Neck - Mike Ververka, Martin Hooper
Freehold - Simar Ahluwalia, Luke Tiefenthaler
Freehold Township - Sam Beres, Drew Castleman
Holmdel - Matt Dixon, Kevin Brady
Howell - Stephen Boncimino, Connor McGlynn
Jackson Liberty - John Veneziano, Nathaniel Matos
Jackson Memorial - Ken Bradley, Khani Glover
Keyport - Michael Wingate, Alex Thomson
Lacey - Trace Dittenhofer, Tom Kelly
Lakewood - Ivan Marks, Dan Niblack
Long Branch - Conor Mullan, Shabazz Shuler
Manalapan - Chris Noesges, Tyler Leonetti
Manasquan - Denis Moran, Evan Walsh
Manchester - Nicholas Ientile, Devin Tomei
Marlboro - Chris Coyle, Reuben Cruz
Matawan - Mike Creamer, Nick Tomkins
Mater Dei Prep - Sam Miles, Derrick Lopez
Middletown South - Tayler Hendrickson, Andrew Wisialko
Middletown North - Jake Betkowski, Jake Zani
Monmouth Regional - Joe Pietz, Michael Morano
Monsignor Donovan - Dean Wilk, Brett Hogancamp
Neptune - Nyjeer Wesley, Michael Dove
Ocean - Cole Mehr, Dan Loizos
Pinelands - Matt MacPhee, Dan MacPhee
Point Beach - Noah Yates
Point Boro - Brendan O'Hara, Matt Gliddon
Rumson-FH - Chase Caruso, Kyle Burnett
Raritan - Jared Collins, Tyler Jones
Red Bank Catholic - Frank Olmo, Pat Toomey
Red Bank Regional - Adam Lynch, Gary Johnson
St. John Vianney - Billy DeMato, Julanee Prince
Shore Regional - Brian Miller, James Murphy
Southern - Christian Lovas, Vinnie Colecchia
Toms River East - Dean Ramos, Matt Gudzak
Toms River North - Robert Deitlmeier, Nick Silva
Toms River South - Sergio Hernandez, Justin Schuman
Wall - Pete Miceli, Jack Cluley